Current accounts that accept quarterly, not monthly, income?

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simonvw
simonvw Posts: 9 Forumite
in Budgeting & bank accounts
Hello, is anyone aware of a UK current account that does not stipulate a set monthly income must be paid in? I am keen to ditch my HSBC current account (which I've had for the best part of 20 years) as the interest rate is virtually zero. My income comes from two properties, which is paid into my account from an agent on a quarterly basis, but so far I cannot find a current account that will accept quarterly income payments. Why are these so set on monthly income? Thanks for any feedback/suggestions
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  • EarthBoy
    EarthBoy Posts: 3,043 Forumite
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    simonvw wrote: »
    .so far I cannot find a current account that will accept quarterly income payments.

    You can't have looked very far then because there are loads of them. You'll only need a guaranteed monthly pay-in for the accounts with extra benefits, e.g. a monthly reward or interest. Ordinary accounts don't insist on any regular payments in.

    Try TSB Classic, Lloyds Classic, Nationwide FlexAccount, NatWest Select, Barclays Bank Account etc. etc. These are only a selection, there are loads of others.
  • simonvw
    simonvw Posts: 9 Forumite
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    Hello, it's my mistake, I meant to the include the (important) point that I would like to gain at least a little interest, otherwise I might as well stay where I am with HSBC. Thanks for your feedback though
  • Marchitiello
    Marchitiello Posts: 1,266 Forumite
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    Hi Simon,

    If you have two accounts, each with a different bank, and once a month you circulate the require amount across the two accounts, you will qualify for both the accounts benefits (many people on this forum do just that).

    So for example you have an account with bank A with minimum pay in of £750 per month and one with bank B with minimum pay in of £800 per month, in month 1 you receive £4000 on account With Bank A, then you transfer £800 on account with bank B; in month 2 you transfer £750 back from B to A and then £800 back from A to B and so on...
  • Kim_13
    Kim_13 Posts: 2,474 Forumite
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    HSBC are the main culprit for downgrading your account if you don't pay in monthly. It's £500 for the standard account or you end up with a basic, £1,250 I believe for the Advance.

    From what I remember, TSB would downgrade a Classic Plus to a Classic if the £500 pay in and use of online banking and paperless requirements aren't met, but over a longer period of time. It's at least a year, so if you didn't want to do a monthly shuffle as above, you would be able to receive the Classic Plus benefits once a quarter when money goes in.

    Other than that I believe any bank would give you a full current account (credit history permitting) so you can have a chequebook if you want one, you just wouldn't get the perks more than once a quarter without account shuffling.
  • trailingspouse
    trailingspouse Posts: 4,035 Forumite
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    We pay our dividends quarterly into a Santander 123 account (1.5% interest), then circulate money through two Lloyds Vantage accounts and two Nationwide Flex accounts monthly to get the interest. Simple enough once it's set up, but you do need enough direct debits to go round.
    No longer a spouse, or trailing, but MSE won't allow me to change my username...
  • PeacefulWaters
    PeacefulWaters Posts: 8,495 Forumite
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    Show a bit of creativity with the faster Payment system and the world is your oyster.
  • pennystretcher
    pennystretcher Posts: 458 Forumite
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    edited 14 September 2017 at 7:41PM
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    Easiest is to recycle your emergency account money between couple of accounts every month in order to meet eligibility criteria.

    Please note links between banks - e.g. First Direct is a HSBC bank, so I suspect that a payment from FD doesn't count as an external transfer. Also Marks and Spencer Bank is owned by HSBC, so I suspect that it would be the same - have not dared to try in case I lose the interest...should be easy enough to call and check.

    ps I hope you have HSBC Advance AND their regular saver? Regular savers seem to be the only accounts to give a decent return...
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    There are a few high street accounts that do specify a minimum income (HSBC Premier being one example) but as others have pointed out, the criteria on most accounts is usually just a pay-in which can easily be met with some creativity.

    In case it sounds like hassle having more than one account and shuffling money to earn interest, bear in mind that in our electronic world it is also a good idea to have more than one current account across different banking groups so if one has a system failure you will still have access to money in the other current account. Less of an issue perhaps if you have several credit cards, but still useful if you regularly need to make online payments.

    Like you I don't have a regular monthly income, so there are some offers and deals I cannot get. But there is plenty of scope to meet the requirements of most high-interest earning accounts and you shouldn't have to put up with miserly interest rates.
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
  • pennystretcher
    pennystretcher Posts: 458 Forumite
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    edited 14 September 2017 at 8:25PM
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    @EachPenny, I have seven current accounts just to get the best deals on regular savers and it takes me less than two hours a month to circulate money to get roughly £500-£600 per year in interest (when maxed out)...not bad return for 24 hours of (annual) work. :beer: :money:

    Round Robin current account thingamabob explained further here:
    http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/savings-loophole
  • EachPenny
    EachPenny Posts: 12,239 Forumite
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    pennystretcher wrote: »
    @EachPenny, I have seven current accounts just to get the best deals on regular savers and it takes me less than two hours a month to circulate money to get roughly £500-£600 per year in interest (when maxed out)...not bad return for 24 hours of (annual) work.

    Only seven current accounts and it takes you that long to do the circulating? You need some tips :) Most of the work can be done with standing orders that can be set up and run themselves. The most time consuming thing for me is taking the interest out each month as I do that manually due to the varying amounts paid.

    Many people who have had the same (poor interest paying) current account for 20+ years (like the OP, but with no disrespect intended) are reluctant to switch their single account, let alone open second and subsequent accounts. My comment was intended to make the point that opening a second account is actually worth it - not just for the interest earning potential - but also to give yourself some backup in this increasingly electronic reliant world.
    "In the future, everyone will be rich for 15 minutes"
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